Smiled Through The Pain Prelude
by KimiMeagan
Summary: Psychic demons have always been hunted since the dawn of time, it seems, originally demons only wanting them for their powers. Their slavery has always been an issue, but it is what one makes of their life that determines how it ends nowadays. HieixOC  Prelude


She couldn't remember exactly why she was there... or even where there was for that matter. All she knew was that there was a pair of blood red eyes currently staring down at her with a puzzling emotion deep within them. The demon behind her gave the shoulders on her form a rough push in the direction of the teen and said with his voice loud and boastful, "Like what you see, boy?"

The teen said nothing in response for a long while, making the demon behind her grow impatient at not only his lack of response but also for making other potential buyers walk off; thinking she was already being sold. "Is she useful?" A voice finally came from the teen as her head was forced side-to-side by the demon behind her, almost as if showing her off before forcing her head in the direction of the teenager in front of her. "Is she useful? Of course she is! She's a psychic demon! A young one, yes; but that makes her all the better to mold to your liking."

She didn't know much of her kind at that particular point in time, only that her mother had always said people were constantly after them. Even her young and innocent mind knew what that meant. "Telepathic, telekinetic, the works; quick little thing, if I do say so myself." The demon continued loud enough for others to hear, making sure to cover his tracks in the off chance of the 'boy' in front of him not wanting to buy the girl. He knew more than a few men around had already taken more than one courtesy glance at her in the tell-tale slave clothes he forced her to wear.

The teen continued to stare at her and she found herself looking right back into his eyes with hers being coated in fear. She was scared of this place, wherever it was, and she wanted to go home. But she knew she couldn't. Not only because of the shackles they placed on her wrists and ankles, or the power-sealing collar around her neck, or even the towering lizard demon behind her with a tight grip on one of her shoulders. No; it was because her home was destroyed... and it was just a fact she had to accept now.

Finally, the teen relented and nodded his head down to her, saying, "Show me." She didn't even try to mask her fear of glancing behind her at the demon as he grunted and grudgingly complied with the order, knowing others would be watching and wanting her if the teen in front of him decided against the option. The collar was finally released around her neck and she was forced around to look at the demon as he smiled menacingly down at her almost in a warning. "Alright now, girly, show him what you can do."

What was she supposed to do? Lift a rock off the ground? Tell the teen what he was thinking? Say what was going to happen in the future, even when she only had one premonition and it had already happen? She decided to lift something off the ground since she was almost positive that the teen wouldn't have been all too happy if she had voiced his thoughts out loud, or even if she had read his mind at that. Stretching out her hand hesitantly, she locked her sights on the table not too far from them that had tools and weapons and such scattered across its surface, thinking it would be the better choice of everything around.

She was still learning how to lift living breathing objects and... She didn't want to risk causing a stir by levitating anything else. She'd already been reminded of just what kind of atmosphere this place held earlier this week.

The table shook for a brief moment inconspicuously before rising softly off the ground it was on, staying a foot or two above the dirt before she rested it back on the ground once more before its owner noticed its strange movement or returned. She didn't want to be punished again... The teen looked thoroughly surprised but, when she dared to glance back at the demon behind her, she found he was grinning around at everyone else that had watched the display of abilities. He was simply imagining the high price the girl would give him... his biggest catch of the day. But first he had to see if the teen would give him something worth his wild if he wanted to purchase her for himself; though the demon knew the teen only as a 'boy', he wouldn't have been surprised if he had more than enough on him.

"Very interesting." the teen mumbled more to himself than to the demon as he rested a hand underneath his chin in thought, actually debating on getting the girl just because of her usefulness and abilities more than the pleasures most others around him wanted to use her for. She was young enough to be easily molded, as the demon had said, and though the thought of training the girl wasn't appealing... the thought of the thefts to come was. "I think I'll take her."

The demon grinned with his sharp and jagged canines clear to the girl when she glanced behind herself briefly to see if the demon would sell her to the teen. He seemed more than willing to get rid of her. "I'd love to immediately sell her to you, but I've already had many other interesting offers today. So many, in fact, that my employer has decided to auction the little beauty off." the demon grinned to himself at the thought of his older brother and himself getting rich off of this one simple girl. "If you really want her, you might be able to strike a deal with him." Even when the demon knew his older brother would much rather get a high price on a slave than sell to someone of high status, threats or not. They were both very good at avoiding death, and knew who and what to avoid; threats were nothing in their eyes.

The teen knew the tone all too well; the demon knew he wouldn't be able to strike a deal with the employer and was silently hoping for a big cash-in on the girl as much as his 'employer' was. The girl just stood there with an emotionless far-off look in her eyes that slightly pained the teen to see for some odd reason. She deserved to be there if she couldn't protect herself; this was the Makai after all, not a daycare. Then why did the teen feel like he had to get her out of this place himself?

"Hn," Was the last thing the girl heard from the teen as he left the area with a thoughtful look on his face, her eyes yearning to go with him and away from this place; she didn't care what she had to do with whoever it was that would end up being her 'Master' as long as they got her out of this place. Her thoughts didn't know, though, that a majority of the demons around her were only thinking of what her body could do for them instead of her powers. The demon roughly pushed her in front of someone else, completely ignoring the teen that had stalked off as he instead started talking with someone new entirely about the girl; wanting more and more people to want her by the time sunset rolled around, the time her auction was going to take place.

The girl was forced to repeat the levitating process a few more times and was finally allowed rest... while standing in the middle of a platform during the auction for her life with demons of all ages, races, and strengths were shouting out offers at the lizard demon brothers that were more than ecstatic to hear the starting price well over $400,000 and steadily getting higher.

Moving his eyes over the crowd, the teen couldn't believe how many people also wanted the girl; finding it somewhat disturbing that they all had only one single thought going through their heads dealing with her... and it had nothing to do with her powers. Thinking over how much the demons around him were wanting the girl, the teen almost turned around and walked off; not wanting anything more to do with her. But that's not what he ended up doing; his body completely disobeyed what he was ordering it while it walked calmly to the front of the crowd and patiently waited for the bidding to slow down before making his own when no one else seemed to want to raise it. He rose it a slight degree emotionlessly, the price of her life very steep but nothing he wouldn't be able to pay off before the lizard demons required it.

The demons nearest to him stared wide-eyed before looking away upon taking notice of the teen's heated glare, all deciding the girl just wasn't worth their lives as a good majority left in search of other slave girls they would be able to purchase easier and with less hostility. "My, my... looks like you decided to place a bet after all," the demon from before said lowly as he stood from his chair and walked onto the platform, placing a firm hand onto the girl's shoulder while looking around at the remains of the large crowd that had gathered for the psychic girl.

"Are there any other bids? Going once, going twice..." None of the demons around dared to raise the value of the girl anymore than it already was, even the one that had bid on her before the teen had stepped in and took the matter into his own hands refused to go any higher for her life. The lizard demon let a twisted 'friendly' grin come to his face when glancing down at the girl before shouting out the final, "Sold!" as if she was some object that they had taken upon themselves to sell to the highest bidder like they had just done.

She felt worthless. She felt like furniture. No, she felt lower than that. She felt like a rock. A smooth, rounded, somewhat flat rock... that wasn't even worth kicking across the ground because it didn't skip very well against the rest of the jagged surfaces of the other rocks. She just turned her dull violet gaze towards the teen she had yearned to go with earlier, hoping he would be able to give her something to live for... even if it was horrible, she needed it. She needed something to look forward to every time she breathed. She hoped with some fiber of her being that she didn't remember having that the teen in front of her would take her away from here... and never make her come back.

The teen didn't react like the demons expected him to, only looked the girl in her eyes before turning his attention to the lizard demon brothers as they walked up to him with the girl in tow, a chain leash secured to her collar that was to ensure she didn't try to escape or get too far behind; although she did neither. "I must say, boy," the lizard demon that spoke to him earlier began to say, "I didn't think you would be the one to end up with this little beauty."

The teen just glared at him shortly before gesturing to the girl and saying, "I'll be back in the morning with your payment. She better be cleaned and ready when I come for her." The teen made it sound like he was the one giving them time to get her ready instead of buying time for himself to get all the money required to buy the girl officially through theft of the camp and the others nearby. The brothers looked at one another, both thinking roughly the same thing: 'Why not?' It wasn't like they couldn't just sell her tomorrow to the previous bidder if he never showed up. "Is dawn alright with you?" the spokesman of the brothers asked the teen while he simply nodded his head, glancing at the girl shortly before locking his gaze with the lizard demon once more and saying, "Have her prepared when I return."

Settling the topic, the teen turned on his heel and walked off as if that would be the end of it all; he was already plotting the deaths of both brothers in case they decided to sell her to someone else while he was gone. If they touched her even... he was going to have their heads.

The girl watched the teen leave with a sudden thought of never leaving or seeing him again. She found it odd how she was immediately attached to the teen but decided it must have been because he could've gotten her out of there, free or not. She knew she would forever be a slave unless someone released her... something that even to her young mind seemed impossible to consider. I'll fight for you, she pleaded in her mind, still thinking the teen was leaving her there; I'll cook, I'll clean, I'll kill, I'll steal, I'll do whatever you ask of me... just come back and take me with you. The teen never once looked back.

The lizard demon brothers talked amongst each other before the older one gestured off to the side for one of his own servants to come over, ordering him to take her to his 'wives', as he put it, and for them to have her cleaned and properly dressed by dawn. The servant just nodded his head, his striking silver eyes never leaving the ground as he took her leash in his hands gently and led her back to the tent. She followed obediently, knowing the way things were done by now; not even thinking of trying to escape because of seeing what happened to the cat demon slave girl the other day when she had tried… The girl had nightmares over what they had done to her in front of them all. But, just not in 'public'.

The elder lizard demon brother had seven 'wives' currently, and each one of them had always done one thing or another for him when he didn't even want to bother with something. This time… they were ordered to help her get clean and dressed for dawn. What was going to happen at dawn…? She didn't know. She didn't care anymore though. The teen had apparently left her here to suffer after crushing her hopes of getting away from this place… this prison… these people. The wives said nothing, but they tried to be gentle to the girl at least when scrubbing her skin free of dirt and who knows what else had been built up on her pores, washing her hair clean of everything as well and dressing her in clothes greatly similar to their own for the simple reason it was the only thing the demon brothers were going to allow the girl to wear. The girl thought the clothes looked like they were made for genies, like the ones from her story books when she still had them.

Instead of the flashy bright colorful fabric the 'wives' had, the girl instead had plain white cotton; covering her under-developed bust in a wrap, going around multiple times before just draping over her shoulder like a simple one shoulder strap. The bottom of the outfit was a sash in a make-shift skirt, tied in a loose knot right below one of her hips; barely covering the plain underwear she had underneath. She wasn't given anything else other than the outfit besides a plain white ribbon that one of the 'wives' had taken out of her own large collection to tie her hair back into a ponytail. The girl felt like she was going to end up becoming one of them as well… it was what it felt like. She wouldn't be surprised if she did become one of them.

The women comforted her gently as best as they could without being discovered, one even going as far as whispering a few short assurances in the girl's ear that she paid little attention to. She said she was sold to someone else and was going to be getting out of here in the morning. How would she be able to do that? She was a slave now… probably going to end up just like the rest of them when dawn broke, she believed for a few short moments. No. If they were going to make her another 'wife' the demon would've done so during the night like he had the others. The girl didn't know what occurred between the wives and the demon, but didn't ask. She didn't want to know. She didn't _need_ to know.

Dawn slowly came. The girl had been ordered to stay with the 'wives' during the entire night to ensure she would be ready for the morning and had been allowed a few hours of rest once they finished cleaning and dressing her. Ten minutes before dawn officially came, the teen was counting all of the gold he had acquired during the night; having stolen out of every tent he came across before deeming he had enough for the girl. Why? He questioned himself countless times but was never able to fully answer his own inquiry. She was useful; she would make even the toughest heist seem effortlessly done. There was more to it than that but the teen decided to pay it no mind. Dawn was coming; the money was ready and accounted for… Now all he needed was to reach the lizard demon brothers.

The lizard demon brothers were waiting, as expected, when dawn broke and the teen had at last returned; one of the brothers keeping a tight grip on the girl's shoulder to keep her in place in case she thought this was her freedom being gained. Young as she was, the girl knew better than to ever hope of such a thing. The teen locked his gaze with the girl's once she had dared to glance up at him and carelessly handed the stolen money off to the eldest brother; not caring either way what they did now that he was about to receive what he wanted. The girl's eyes were violet… a bright vivid shade that clearly showed in the dark morning while the teen's were a deep crimson… a red hue that seemed to come directly from the blood in his body. The girl was captivated by the color while the teen was pondering whether or not to question the girl on her intense gaze; her burning violet stare that seemed to look right through him.

"Everything seems in order then, boy," the demon brother that originally sold the girl stated as he roughly pushed her forward so that she could step towards the teen. "She's all yours." He let out a snicker at the thought of what all would happen to the girl now that she actually had a new master. He wondered what the teen would do with her shortly before dismissing the thought entirely. He didn't need to even ponder her very existence anymore now that he and his brother had made more than enough on her. She was useful while they had her and would have no problem living now that they had sold her.

The teen merely nodded at the statement and gestured for the girl to follow him, turning and walking a few steps away to see if she was following. She was; the girl was only one step behind the crimson-eyed teen that owned her now, figuring out that he was her new master by the way the demon brothers had just spoken of him and to him. She was young but that just made it easier for her to learn how she was going to be doing things nowadays. Whether he used her for manual labor or anything else of the sort, she would adapt and change her life in order to blend to his will. He owned her now.

"How good are you at your control?" The teen questioned the girl once they were out of hearing range of the trading camp. The girl lifted her head from where she was previously looking at the ground so that she could turn her eyes upwards towards her new owner in question, not knowing exactly how to answer since she had never been questioned like that and wasn't entirely positive how to respond to the question; others merely ordered her to demonstrate but it seemed as if he wanted to know the extent of her abilities, something she was never able to do since it seemed to make those around her uneasy.

"I'm… I'm not sure how to respond, Master," The girl answered as her violet gaze lifted to lock onto his own crimson orbs, the stare lasting only a few moments before she remembered her place and the order of things; she lowered her look quickly. She said nothing more because the answer was simple enough and because she had seen what the lizard brothers had done to those that spoke out of turn, she wasn't sure what her new master would do to her if she chose to do so like many others had. Smart as she was, she was going to take no chances. "Then come with me," the teen said as he turned on his heel and began walking towards the dark ominous forest in front of them. "We'll see what you can do."

The girl blinked to clear her thoughts of worry and nodded her head obediently before starting to follow after the teen, who was too busy trying to get over the disgust he felt when she called him master to entirely dislike the silence that stretched between them; strained from the event that had previously occurred. "And one more thing," he said to her without pausing in his strides or even looking at her over his shoulder. "Don't call me 'Master'… Call me Hiei." The girl turned her gaze briefly towards him before looking back towards the ground in order to follow his footsteps instead.

"Yes… Hiei." A chill ran up the teen's spine.


End file.
